Party conflict and foreign crisis at Cambridge University, 1745 to 1806

The research looks at Cambridge University’s politics during the second half of the eighteenth-century through the lens of foreign crises, from the Jacobite Rising in 1745 to the death of William Pitt the Younger in 1806. Cambridge University has frequently been a partisan and ideological battleground in British political history. The university’s leaders and ideas have been featured in a wide range of studies of eighteenth-century Britain, but few have focused exclusively on the university and the dynamics behind its politics, particularly within the context of international affairs. Flowing throughout the thesis will be the application of ‘Actor-Network Theory’. Although, originally rooted in sociology, this approach has been used by historians in various fields, from economics to religion. This means discovering how political networks formed, propagated ideas, and interacted with local institutions, centres of power, and other networks. There should be no assumption that because someone belonged to a particular network that they should share all the same principles and beliefs as the rest of their network. Instead, individuals will be scrutinised through their specific relationships with others in their network and externally, shaping their behaviour and the responses from others to their actions. In terms of studying these political networks, the research will focus on three particular aspects. First, how voters communicated political ideas and messages with each other within the context of their time. The university seats were distinctive in having highly intellectual electorates that were very active in public debate. Second, how voters networked, creating incentives for supporting or opposing a political cause, whether it be through patronage or social pressure. Third, how voters responded to external events, especially foreign crises. The outbreak of war, impact of revolution, or the consequences of peace can have a dramatic impact on people’s views and their priorities.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Cowan, David

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Thompson, Andrew

• Cambridge University
• Eighteenth-Century
• William Pitt
• Political History
• British Elections

Licence

• https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/80f1e656-1387-48c0-8c46-39910d21027f/download
• http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved

Language dc:language

eng

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.126685

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/397592